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Mother Nature's realm is one of beauty and colour, of which only The Lady herself can rival. But, she will hauntingly warn, Earth's beauty does not protect you from her dangers. And the little ones, the fae and young sprites who crowd around her for stories as the starlight dances through the leaves--they merely nod their heads and tug on their mother's skirts in poorly hidden anticipation.
And Lady Earth will sigh, smile down at them, fold her hands in her lap, and tell sweet stories of heroes and happy endings.
----
Once upon a time, the stars sang, and their voices were the sweetest of sounds. The Lady swears, In a time of eternal midnight, they are what made it golden.
There is something in her eyes when she says that, the trees whisper.
There is something in her voice, the flowers sigh.
She is sad, the winds say.
----
The Lunar Constellations know what's to come a year before it does. A year--an amount of time that is measureless to the people who live among the stars. Nevertheless, they hear the screams and cries of worlds from light years away. They do nothing.
"You will be safe," the Lord Lunanoff promises. "Light and hope will prosper."
Among the cheers that follow, one little girl frowns.
Little Lady Seraphina has always held a special place in her heart for her Tsar. He's tall and handsome, more so in his gold and red uniform, even more so when he smiles.
That day, however, her father is gone and her mother is crying, and Little Lady Seraphina feels that she could hate her Tsar, hate him if he should dare be telling her lies.
----
The Sandman tells stories, just as The Lady Earth. But, she will admit, his stories are much better. The creatures of the Earth all know this to be an honest statement, as well, because they know that it's she who hides behind the cover of the clouds as the Wishing Man spins tales of golden ships and little star children, and it's she, only she, who can still hear his songs when it's midnight and the stars are bright and the world could be Golden...
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Revolution. There is revolution in the days before the Fearlings attack. There is a violence that should never have existed and sobbing children who should never have felt the need to. The House of Lunanoff is turned to chaos. In those days before the end, families are killed, crimes are committed, and the star's songs turn into a woeful balled.
Lady Pitchner and her daughter, along with the other nobles of the Lunar Constellations, are kept safe from it all within the confines of the palace. But Little Lady Seraphina, in her little green dress, will step into the garden when the stars are their dullest, and she will listen to their sad songs. And if she listens close enough, she swears to the Tsar on that last night, she can hear them cry.
(On that night, all of Lunanoff felt fear, and for that there was no exception but the young prince, whose mother held him close and sang soft songs of peaceful rest.)
Then is when Little Lady Seraphina breaks away from her mother's hold and runs to the Tsar's side. Her small hands curl into his robe and she tells him, "The stars are crying, my Lord."
And the Lord Lunanoff smiles. And in that moment she damns him to darkness. She hates him for that smile, and she hates that he let things get this way. She hates him for the people still shouting from every corner of Lunanoff, of the violence still reigning.
(When she is older, and when a millennium has come to pass, she will cross by the corners of the Earth. The stars will be bright and quiet, as they were in that moment. And she will smile, just as that man had. And she will understand. And she will love her Tsar once more.)
It is then that the stars fall silent, and along with it, the people of the Lunar Constellations.
"Return to your mother." the Tsar tells her. And she does just that, although she cannot remember it.
Because as the stars fall silent, her father finally returns home.
----
When she is young, she learns that there are others who have survived the Nightmare King's destruction. She learns that there is a lone Pooka deep within her realm. She learns that there is a star, though silent, that still makes wishes come true. And she learns that the prince, the young and dear Prince of the Lunanoff Constellation, has survived.
But these stories aren't for the young sprites and fae to hear. Perhaps they are never meant to be told at all.
And that, The Lady Seraphina believes, is just fine.